Heroine of Shadows
by The Zelda Nerd
Summary: the Demon King has taken over Hyrule, and now its fate rests upon the shoulders of a young shifter named Link. But, first, she will have to save herself. *note* Please think of this a new game as it is based on the legend of the hero from Hyrule Warriors.:)
1. prolong: The Huntress

Wagner ran as fast he could, trying to get away from a bounty hunter only known as the Huntress. He had heard tales of her, a woman who appeared to be more animal than human. A woman who would stop at nothing to hunt down her prey. It didn't matter how far you ran, she would always find you...This was a fact that Wagner planned to prove false. He was amazed at how fast his legs were taking him, but to beat her he was going to need a horse.

Ah! There was one there! He shoved the astounded servant off the chestnut mare and leapt onto the mare's back. The horse reared as he made her gallop forward.

"Tsk, tsk. Now not only do I get to bring you in for murder and countless degrees of banditry, but I also get to bring you in for horse theft" the voice was soft and whispery, yet he heard it just fine.

He turned his head and saw a sight that chilled his blood. The Huntress was running on_ foot_, keeping perfect pace with the horse. A demoness, that was what she was, he decided, a demoness. No wonder she kept her face covered with that blank opal mask. She was hiding the fact that she was a demon! Wagner urged the mare to go faster. Except, the mare was doing the exact opposite. No! It was said if you were caught by the Huntress, she gave you a fate worse than death. He felt a hand close upon his shoulder and drag him roughly to the ground.

Once on the ground, he attempted to flee. "Please! Spare me!" he cried "I'll give you anything you want! Just please don't kill me!"

"Kill you?" came the Huntress' voice "why would I want to kill disgusting scum, like you? If you are to die, then that will be up to the authority. I'm just the one who hunts the sheep who think themselves wolves." she hated those who thought themselves, predators, when all they were were stupid rabbits who have forgotten what a true predator looked like. Though, she had had fun hunting this one down. Prey always ran when it realized it was being hunted.

Wagner moaned. The authority was even worse then what he had thought _she _was going to do to him. Maybe before the Demon King rose to power sixteen years ago, he would have been grateful to be given to them. But now? Not so much. He'd rather be brutally killed at this Demon's hands.

* * *

"Ah, we've been looking for that one," the Moblin said licking his lips, "thank you, Huntress."

"Any other work that I can do?" the Huntress asked, passive beneath her mask.

"Actually, yes." the Moblin said "There is an upstart shiekah in the south-east. The King would be most pleased if you were to capture him"

He handed her a wanted poster. She read it: _Wanted:_ _Shiek, Reward: Three Thousand Rupees _Not too bad of reward. it was actually a little bit more than what she normally got.

"I'll take the job."

The Moblin grinned, "a pleasure doing business with you."

* * *

_**Hi, this is my first published Zelda fic. I hope you enjoy this first chapter! hopefully the next few are longer! :)**_


	2. Chapter 1: She-wolf

The Huntress sat at a table in the tavern. She had learned that a man that matched the description of her prey often frequented here. But the man, Sheik, bothered her. Wasn't he an assist to the King? Or was the Moblin a traitor? Hmm… she'd have to look into it. But killing Sheik didn't exactly feel like a good idea to her for other reasons as well. It just felt _wrong._

"Here is your meal, miss," a waitress said timidly, placing down a plate of what smelled like it had been cooked in malice. Probably _had_ been cooked in malice. It looked like it was supposed to be some sort of meatloaf. She took a deeper sniff and immediately gagged. Miniblins smelled better than this. She pushed it away. No way in hell she was going to eat _that_. A terrifyingly familiar scent came to her nose. _Th-that scent…_ she turned and saw the man that she had been sent to capture, yet, he smelled like the princess, who was dead. She narrowed her eyes at him. There was more to this man, then there appeared. The man caught her eye before quickly looking away. _"Meet me in the forest"_ his crimson eyes seem to say. The Huntress thought that maybe she had imagined it, but she was certain that was what she had read in his eyes. But, then the question was, what would someone who was a stranger want with her? Today seemed to be filled with strangeness.

The woods were the same as they always been. It seemed that time never touched them, but if you looked closely, you could see the slight difference in them. The Huntress waited patiently for Sheik.l

"It's been a long time since I last saw you, Link," said a man's voice from behind her, "but, you prefer 'huntress' don't you?"

She turned around, "how do you know my name? As far as I'm concerned we have never met."

"And we haven't" the man replied, "I suppose the person who bore your name is dead now. Just like your beautiful princess."

_Who...is this?_ Link thought to herself, and what did he mean by 'person who bore your name is dead now'? "Who are you?" she growled.

"A wandering minstrel who wishes to help bring back your humanity"

"My humanity?" she laughed, "you've come a tad too late, my friend. My humanity is long gone."

"That is untrue," Sheik replied softly, "you still retain, but a sliver of it. It may not seem like a lot, but it is enough."

Link thought about this. She had been taught to keep the beast within at bay, yet she had never been able to completely do it (and now completely and utterly _failed_ at). Perhaps this is what he spoke of? The part of her, she had never been able to keep in its cage? But if her humanity could still be saved then maybe the princess was still alive as well. It was stupid logic, but the way things worked after the Demon King came into power, it was relatively sound. "How do you plan on helping me?"

Sheik's eyes glimmered slightly and said: "by giving you the locations of the four temples of each goddess and the springs within."

"And what am I supposed to do at these springs..?" she asked, what was she getting herself into?

"You are to meditate." he replied, "You will know when you have succeeded."

That was it? That seemed a bit too easy. Then again, she'd have to _find _these temples, and go through whatever the temple threw at her. "Okay. So, where are the temples located?"

Sheik grinned beneath his mask

* * *

.

Link frowned at the old map that Sheik had given her, as well as the instructions she had been given. According to her instructions, she had to find the Temple of Power. Which, was located_ inside_ Death Mountain. Welp, this was going to be fun. What was she going to do about the Gorons? They had become wary of outsiders shortly before all hell broke loose, along with the Zora. And that meant they were not keen on letting anyone within the Volcano. Who would actually _want _to go in a volcano where they were most likely going to die, was beyond her, even though she was in that exact position. Hmm… from her position in the woods, she would need to go north. She would also get there easier if she was in her wolf form. She changed, thankful that she could no longer feel her spine repositioning itself. It was still rather painful, but not as painful as the first few times. She broke into a run. If Wagner had thought her demon before he would most definitely consider her a complete monster now.

As she came upon Death Mountain, Link could tell that something was wrong. A dark pinkish fog circled the great mountain. Malice in its' gas state. Invisible to humans, it could create monsters out of _anything_. Suddenly, she was very glad that she had such a great sense of smell, even if it _did_ make it difficult to be in the city. Now, how was she going to get past it? She _could_ barrow beneath it, but the soil looked like it was tainted as well. Wait a minute.

She looked up. The pinkish fog only reached up maybe six feet high and was only a foot thick. Easily jumpable. She would just need a running start and a long sturdy stick. Link found one such stick quite quickly, due to a dried up Deku Baba that was nearby. In her human form, she went back several feet and began to run toward the fog. Just before she reached the fog, she put down the stick and allowed its momentum to launch herself over. She landed neatly and safe on the other side. Now to see the state of the Gorons and if they were even willing to let an outsider within their sacred mountain.

Unexpectedly, the Gorons were quite welcoming to her. It turned out they were very eager to meet someone who _wasn't_ a monster and could tell them of the fate of the rest of Hyrule. Link tried to give them as good an answer as she could, but often she could not give them an answer to their many questions.

"Are you a part of house Lukami?" said the Goron elder, Gor Darbus,

Link was caught off guard, "um, yes. Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Then I'm guessing the reason you have come is not to help but to go into the Temple of Power. Am I wrong?" he replied.

"No, you're not," she said, "but, how did you know?"

"Let's just say you are not the first in your family to come to us" Gor Darbus looked at her sadly,

"But, our issue _is _the temple. So, perhaps while you go through it you can fix whatever is going on inside"


	3. Chapter 2: The Fire Temple

""This tunnel will take you right to the Temple entrance," Gor Darbus said, gesturing to a large archway set into the rock. "But before you enter, you will need to give me all of your weaponry and armour."

Link gave him a look, "but, you told me that the issues you've been having originate within the temple."

"So, I did," he replied, "But it is a sacred place, and it is also the place of your trial. That means that whatever the conditions may be, you must rely on your own power."

Which meant that her only means of defence was the martial arts training that she had received from the sheikah. It was extremely effective, it just wasn't her style. Begrudgingly, she handed over her sword. Once she had finished giving up all of her equipment, Gor Darbus handed her a large ornate key. "This will open the temple entrance."

Link nodded her thanks and headed in. Gods, it was hot! Now, she was thankful she had given sheik her mask. It was pretty dark in here, but Link thought she could see some light ahead of her. As she got closer, the tunnel opened up, and a long narrow stretch of cliff led to a large door with a crest on it. The crest on it seemed familiar to her, even though she had never seen it before in her life. She peered over the edge. It was a long way to the lava below. Link mentally shook herself and went towards the door. The shape of the Goron crest loomed over her, it was surrounded by a fiery circle that echoed the crest of the sage of fire. She put the key into the lock. With a creak, the massive doors slowly opened. As she entered the Temple, she couldn't help but marvel at the inside of it. The stone wall was ornately carved, glowed as magma flowed between their cracks. The floor looked to be marble and had carvings of fire on them, as did the pillars that spanned from ceiling to floor. Two large doors stood at the back of the room. They were almost identical to the ones at the entrance, but the lock on this was different. Two tubes shaped like dragons weaved themselves to a disk that had the same crest from before on it. Link recognized this mechanism. It was a lock often used by elemental sorcerers. Why it was in a temple like this, puzzled her. The priests that had originally lived here wouldn't have been able to use fire magic, and the Gorons certainly didn't use it, either. She supposed that there was an item of some sort that allowed them to open this. As Link examined it, she became aware of shuffling footsteps to her right. She turned and saw what looked like a badly maimed Dynaflos moving towards her. It looked at her with milky eyes and groaned in malic, "L-leave this place. The malice has taken over most of the temple."

Despite herself, Link went closer to the injured Dynaflos. "Malice?" she replied in malic, "how did it get here of all places?"

The Dynaflos looked at her in surprise, it had known something was different about this human female, but it hadn't realized that she could speak malic. Something was very wrong about this female. "The Demon King. There was something here that he wanted, but I don't know what. He wanted the Gorons to give it to them, but they refused. He then sent me here to help change their minds, but they just sent me here."

Of course, it was the Demon King, of course, it was. Link frowned suddenly. What about the malice? She couldn't smell it, so that meant that something had happened to it, to render scentless. She asked the Dynaflos about, while at the same time healing its wounds.

"The Demon king cursed this place that made the Guardian Deity, Volga, go mad. I'm guessing he used _living _malice to do so."

"Living malice?" Link asked, confused. She had heard of malice being a liquid and a gas. but, _alive_? She had never heard of that. Then again she had never seen wounds like this, so what did she know?

"Yes," It replied, "the Demon king found a way to make it alive. It causes anything that it fuses to become a mindless being. It also mutates them."

So _that's_ what the Gorons were having issues with. Damn it! How was she supposed to make any difference? Especially without any weapons or armour. Wait a minute, she could sneak pretty well. That or people were very unaware of their surroundings. It was rather hard to tell which was which. And if logic told her anything, whatever the demon king was after, were behind those doors. She could do this, it was just going to be a lot harder than, she thought it was going to be. She got up.

"W-wait, where are you going?" the Dynalfos cried out, petrified at the prospect of being alone.

"I'm going to explore this place and find a way to open those doors" she replied, her eyes had a strange light in them. Almost as if she had done this before, and enjoyed it each time. Almost.

It rather shook the now healed, Dynaflos. Seeing that there was no stopping her, it gave her a map and compass it had already picked up, "Take this, it will be of more use to you, then it will to me."

She took the items and thanked him. This would definitely be of use to her, specifically the compass. Link didn't know why she didn't already have a compass on her, but hey, she had one now. She examined the map. So, the place that she wanted to go was probably this suspiciously unmarked area on the left-handed side of the map. The area was small, but it was in the shape of a hexagon and a rectangular indent on one side told her that there was a door there. Of course, it could be a broom closet, but she found that unlikely. Going through a door on the left, she wrinkled her nose as she got a very strong whiff of malice mixed with what smelled like rotting flesh. Up ahead, she could see the outline of some massive creature ahead of her. Crouching low against the wall, she carefully went forward. With no weapons, and no knowledge of- what the hell _is_ that thing!? The massive creature that she had seen the outline of turned out to be what looked like a heavily mutated Chu. The thing was a rusty sort of red with black highlights throughout. It appeared to have no arms but had eyes in various places all over its body, some on stalks, some appearing to just barely be connected to the body. And then there was the smell, sweet bloody Nayru it smelled bad! Link didn't exactly have the words for it, but if asked to describe it, she would say that the Chu smelled like a redead after being sprayed on by at least sixty skunks. Link held her breath as she slipped past the creature. _Normal _Chus smelled nothing like that, normal Chus actually had a relatively pleasant scent to them. Link was very happy when she got to the door she had been looking for. The door creaked when she opened it. Inside, the room was very spacious and it had the same decorations as the main entrance. As she walked to the center of the room, the door slammed shut and was gated. Linkle swore colourfully, she should have known something like that was going to happen. "What do we have here?" Said a cheerful voice from behind her, "why, a young She-wolf is what we have!"

Link began to growl and bared her teeth, had she been her wolf form, her ears would have been flat against her head. She turned around to see an unusually beautiful Flare Dancer. Link stopped growling as she watched in awe at how graceful the Flare moved, the flames that it was made of shining all the different colours of the rainbow. It moved like some ethereal ballet dancer.

"Why don't you dance with me, little wolf?" asked the Flare politely, "You really don't have anything else to do since the way you came is blocked."

"But, I can't dance" Link replied still in awe of the fire spirit.

"Oh, so the sheikah didn't teach you? Guess that means I get to! What fun!" The Flare began to shoot fiery balls at her feet. Link dodged them quickly, snapping out of it. The Flare Laughed and said, "that's it! Keep on dodging! Don't want to get burned! What use would you be if you were burned to a crisp?"

She dodged again. This kept up for what felt like days but was probably no more than two hours. By that point, she was automatically doing it, and the Flare smiled as she moved. Everyone had their own flair when it came to dancing, and this human was no exception. She had a kind of feral grace to the way she moved, betraying what lay within. The Flare had taught the human's father, and he had been good, even _promising. _It was sad the way he had turned out, but this human was different. As she danced, the Flare wondered how she would sound if she sang. Would she sound like the hero of twilight, whose voice could be heard late at night, when the moon was full? But, that was not for it to find out; that would be for the Zora Queen to find out. The Flare bowed to the She-wolf, knowing that its job was done. It went out, leaving behind its glowing core. The glow faded, as a fiery stream was absorbed through Link's skin. Focusing more on getting her breathing under control, she didn't immediately notice it. Wha-what? It didn't hurt but it was rather weird to watch yourself absorbing the essence of a fire spirit. She conjured a small flame in her palm. _Well, that's going to be useful_, she thought to herself. A grating sound behind her told her that the way out was now open. Yes, finally! Link went through the door, once again holding her breath as she went past the Whatever-that-thing-was and went back into the main entrance. She noticed that the Dynaflos was gone. Shame, she had wanted to speak to him more. She turned to the ornate door. Now, if she had thought this through correctly, she should be- Ah ha! The lock on the door began to turn as it was fed a steady stream of fire from her palms. The doors opened. Inside, Link thought she could see the sleeping form of a dragon. Carefully, she went inside. Scents assaulted her, painting her vision as many colours as the Flare Dancer. There was the scent of malice, brimstone, dust, grass, earth, and another scent. She began to focus on it. It was similar to the scent of the princess and Hylia. Hylia? Where did _that _come from? And how did she know how the white goddess smelt like? She shook her head, but she was certain that it was the scent of something sacred. The scent appeared to her as a rather pleasant lavender colour. The dragon snorted and opened one amber eye. Well, it was a good run.

The dragon roared, now very much awake and very pissed off. It lunged at her with one massive claw. Link found herself doing a much deadlier version of what she had done with the Flare. Dodge right, dodge left, right, left again, right, nope, left. She narrowingly missed getting gutted by a massive talon. This was going nowhere. What could she use against it? Fire would probably be ineffective, transforming would just get her killed quicker and she really didn't want that. Which left the martial arts. Hopefully, it worked, if not, then hey, at least she died trying. Link dodged the dragon's attacks while at the same time getting closer to it. Once she was closer, Link noticed something shiny at the base of the dragon's neck. Upon getting close enough that apparently, it couldn't see her, the shiny 'something' turned out to be a weird gem. _Talk about an obvious weak spot. _Link lashed out a kick at it. The gem cracked and shattered. Smoke surrounded the dragon and the scenery changed as the dragon grew smaller. In its place stood a young Dragon Knight. He looked around confused, his eyes fell on the equally confused Link.

"Who are you", he asked, "what happened?"

"I am a shifter that originally came to meditate at the spring of power, but ended up freeing you from some sort of curse" she explained to him, "who are you?"

"Volga, Guardian of this spring." Volga replied, "If what you say is true then I am in your debt. If you are ever in critical danger, then I shall come to your aid."

Link nodded to him, uncomfortable. She had not expected this. Though, it was rather nice to know that she had someone who would fight alongside her if things got rough. Volga bowed to her before fading away. Well, that was weird. Link looked at the spring which had been behind Volga. Going to the edge of it, she sat down and began to meditate.

* * *

A soft breeze rustled the grass of the endless meadow. A tree stood at the center of this meadow, standing tall, swaying gently in the wind. Not far from this tree a pure white she-wolf was slowly waking up. Link looked around, confused. Where was she? Just a few minutes ago she had been furless and meditating in the spring of power, and what was this place? it wasn't Hyrule, the skies of Hyrule were currently the colour of twilight. The skies here were a vivid blue. The smell of it was similar to the spring, yet also drastically different. If she closed her eyes, she could see a blue-silver. There was also an aura of power that seemed to fill the air. Another scent found its way to her. It was almost exactly like her own, yet instead of being a dark green colour (as her scent had the tendency of being), it was the same colour as the sacred smell around her. Link followed it. The scent led her to a white wolf with blue and red markings on his face. One blue eye, one green eye; same as her. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I...am..you" The wolf replied with a deep sadness in his eyes.

"How are you me? I am neither male nor am I a sacred beast such as yourself" Link said wondering who the hell this wolf was, and(most importantly in her opinion) why he was saying that he was her.

"In a past life, you and I were the same."

Okay, this guy was obviously off his rocker. Also, past lives? The _hell_!? Link was aware that her haunches were raised and that she was growling. The wolf (though, he _did _look remarkably like her) was still looking at her with that same sad expression. It was starting to get on her nerves. Just like how this place seemed eerily familiar, even though she had never been here before in her entire life, was getting on them. But, the past lives thing... there was some truth in that. So far the wolf had not lied, though Link wasn't putting any rupees on that. There were ways to lie without actually lying.

The wolf could tell that the young she-wolf in front of him wasn't believing a word he was saying. Perhaps it hadn't been such a great idea to tell her the truth outright. "I am an echo of the one known as "Oni". You are the hero reborn. In a past life, you used me to defeat Majora a second time" hopefully that would help her believe him, if not? Well, there would be more chances.

Oni..? Link was unsure of what to think of that. But "hero reborn"? No, she couldn't be. The hero was only born ten to twenty years before the darkness came, and she had been born the exact year when Hyrule fell to the hands of Ganondorf. Not to mention that upon his ascent to the throne, one of the first things he did was to kill all Hylian males between the ages of nine and twenty-seven. The process had not been perfect, her brother had been proof of that, but he had killed enough that it was likely he _had _gotten the hero. Additionally, she wasn't what she called heroic. She was a wolf, a beast, a _monster. _She fit right in with all the other monsters that now lived among the humans. No, she wasn't the Hero, and if she was? Then the goddesses have made a terrible mistake. She was damned, just like the rest of her family. Once, the name 'Lukami' would have made her prideful. Now? All she could think of was what had happened to her father. "Wolven children of the moon," indeed. "I am no hero," Link said to the wolf, "I am a monster. You are heavily mistaken."

The wolf bowed his head to her.


	4. Chapter 3: the Zora

Link sat near the bank of a river, watching the sunrise. Floating in the sky, like a bad omen, was the Demon King's castle. Only those who could fly could get there. No human had ever set foot there. The sky was a dark orange with black, angry clouds. In other places maybe the sky was blue and the clouds were white, like that place where she saw the white wolf, but here the sky spoke of darkness. Only at night did the sky look natural. The moon shining its perfectly normal light upon the sleeping inhabitants of Hyrule, the humans woefully unaware of how pleasant the night was compared to the day. Link sighed. She didn't like the way things were going at the moment. The Gorons had been too friendly towards her. Like they had been expecting her to come. And the way Shiek had just given her the information to each spring.

Now, the wolf. Link didn't like to admit it, but the wolf had frightened her. His eyes were the thing that had scared her the most. yes, they were like hers, but the pupils. They had been cat-like and glowing amber. Maybe it was time to visit the monument again. Gods, when was the last time she had gone there, let alone thought of it? Before she left home, most likely. Well, maybe she could get some information from the Zora, and then maybe she could make some sense of this whole mess. Voices snatched her away from her thoughts, "why are we here, _Zora_?" a woman's voice, a Zora. She was just thinking about them. How convenient.

" Princess Amaya, we have to find someone to help us," said another voice. _Male, likely a Zora_, "we cannot fight off the dark lord much longer"

As Link moved closer, she noticed that one was indeed female and was quite beautiful. The smokey grey fins that hung on the sides of her face were long and resembled tentacles, the long tail-like appendage that came from the back of her head had fins like those on her arms were fan-like. The fins on her lower torso were layered, making it seem like she was wearing a dove grey skirt that turned to silver as it went down. This same pattern could be found on her other fins as well. She was adorned with jewellery draped all over her shapely body. Pearl and silver bracelets shone at her wrists. Her companion was an old male Zora, whose scales were navy blue. His fins were not as extravagant as his companions, and the tail-like appendage was fin-less and had white dots going along the sides. Linkle thought the woman was most likely the "princess" the man was talking to.

"And so I have to run away?" Amaya said to him,

"yes" the man replied, " I'm sorry, Princess. It cannot be helped, your mother is the Queen and so I follow her orders, _Zora_"

"My _mother_ is currently inside the Temple and refuses to come out, let alone be seen by anyone" she hissed "even _me,_ her- what was that?"

Link silently cursed. She had stepped on a twig, that had, in turn, alerted them to her presence. She stepped out of the bush she had been crouched in, hands raised in surrender.

"Who are you and why were you listening to our conversation?" Amaya said to her,

" My name is Link, Your Highness" Link replied, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but hear that your mother has shut herself inside the Temple. It just so happens that I came this way because I wish to enter it."

'If you heard _that_ then you must know that the Temple is off-limits," huffed Amaya, angrily, "especially to _your_ kind, _Zora_"

"Your Highness, you are assuming things again, can you not see that this woman is neither human nor demon?" interjected her companion, "Shifter, I do not know why you seek to unify yourself in this dark world, where someone such as you would be more or less at home, but I ask that you disregard her words and not take her words to heart."

" Elder Wyvern! You can't be serious!" Amaya said indignantly,

"I'm afraid I am, your Highness," replied Wyvern warily, "the Lukami has long-held ties with the Zora. When we are in need, they help us, and in return, we allow them to unify themselves in the temple spring, _Zora_."

Link had forgotten about that. She had forgotten about the ties her family had held since the Twilight era. She was quite surprised they still held to this day. From what her father had told her, the reason her family held these ties was because of a promise that one of her ancestors had made. The promise that was made stated that if the Zora ever called upon them, then they would help. The promise also made her family convenient messengers for the Hylian Royal family. It was no secret that the Lukami were shifters and bound to a promise. It was most likely this that had prevented her family from being wiped out.

"Why have I never heard of this?" Amaya asked, still angry. She was starting to get on Link's nerves.

"You have not heard of this, because the family was thought to be dead, having disappeared alongside the Hylian queen and her daughter," Wyvern turned to Link, "I'm sorry, but as you wish to go into the temple. I believe me and her Highness could be of help, _Zora_"

"_What!?_"

this shout from Amaya caused Wyvern to give her a hard look, "you are not used to this, but you need to learn that when it comes to threats to everyone, including the Zora, that you must do what you can to help. And this girl is our best shot, _Zora"_

"How am I your best shot?" Link said quietly, "I haven't said that I would help you, yet"

"See!?" Amaya said, "she's not going to-"

"Let me finish," Link said a growl seeping into her voice, "I don't know what has happened, but I do know that I am bound by that ancient promise to help you."

It didn't take very long for Wyvern to explain the situation to Link. Amaya had gone on to the Zora village, while Wyvern had stayed to speak with Link.

"if the only way to the Temple is through the village, then how am I going to get there?" asked Link, "I'm not a fish"

"No" Wyvern agreed, "you are not, but there is a way. The Item has never been used since the Temple has never been fully submerged and if it has, there wasn't an issue"

Link questioned the logic of that. The hero of twilight allegedly had gone into the old water Temple, wearing Zora armour. Which had been given to him by the dead queen of the Zora. She watched Wyvern dig around in a satchel and bring out what looked like the bottom half of a translucent fish costume.

"This is a mermaid suit" he explained, "when you put it on, you should make sure that it's in full contact with your skin, otherwise it might not work properly, _Zora_"

She took it from him, "so, it changes me into a mermaid?"

"Yes and it should change colour when it does," he replied to her, "put it on now on the river bank, we'll take the river to the village"

Link did as he said, stripping down to her underclothes. Wiggling herself into the tail, she felt it fuse to her skin, she was aware of the fact that all she was wearing up top was her bra. She was also aware of how the pendant that she wore, could now be seen by anyone. The tail had indeed changed colour, now being opaque and deep emerald green. After making sure everything was tightly packed into a small pot that hung off her waist, she followed Wyvern downstream. It occurred to her that technically speaking she shouldn't be able to fit all her items into her satchel, let alone the pot. Funny, she had never really thought about it, but it did seem odd to her that she was able to fit what she did in it. Her clothes, spare sword and bow, quiver, and grappling hook, to name a few. Either her satchel was a small pocket dimension, or she was _really_ good at stuffing things into small spaces. Link opted for the pocket dimension, as unlikely as it sounded, it made the most sense. Even though men had the stupid thought that the superpower of all women was putting things into small spaces, Link was pretty sure that she shouldn't be able to fit a _sword_ into her fist-sized satchel. She thought about what kind of enchantment was on the tail. It had turned her into a mermaid, evident by the fact that her legs had fused into one singular object. Transformation magic was powerful and usually was only done as an absolute last resort. The reason was simple, if you weren't all that powerful in the first place you would die; your life force forging the spell that would transform you. This was a danger that Link knew very well. It was a danger all shifters had to face in the first transformation, and it was scary to transform that first time. The first time, you feel the magic you had always been aware of but never used, take over. You would feel it boiling your blood as it forces your body to take on a form that it had never taken on before. If you survived you would wake to find yourself in a form that you believe to not be your own, and then realize that, yes, it is you, just a lot different. If you died? You would die in a cross between that of your other form and your human one. The magic that Link felt in the suit and covering her felt like that magic. It slowly dawned on her that the enchanter who had cast the spell had given up their life in casting it. Magic was a dangerous thing, some races were able to handle it better than others, Hylians, in particular, were like that. Even though their magic weakened from time to time (sometimes being non-existence) they retained the ability to use, or at least be somewhat immune to it. She shivered. The water was getting colder. She looked at Wyvern and realized something was wrong. Rather clumsily she swam faster, "what happened?"

"T-the Temple," Wyvern replied, badly frightened, "we noticed that the water was getting colder and the walls were covered in ice, _Zora_."

_So, it's spread, _she thought, "You stay here, I'll go ahead and see what's going on,"

"No!" Wyvern cried, "you'll die! The truth is, is that the Queen is frozen solid! If you go there, you'll freeze too!"

Link laughed darkly, "I doubt that a little ice is going to freeze me. If you are so scared, go to Lake Hylia and wait there. If the ice goes there, then go to Kakariko,"

Wyvern looked at her and saw that she looked sane, yet her eyes were emerald and sapphire fire. What could have pissed her off so much? The shifter barely knew the Zora, and Wyvern got the distinct feeling that she was more wolf than human. He nodded towards her and wished her luck.

Link watched him go. She had meant what she had said. Fear was a useful emotion, yes, but it was not of use in this situation. It would only get in the way. Moving forward, the water grew colder. Without even really thinking about it, she used her magic to warm herself. Her skin took on a golden hue as a gentle flame coated it. The river went underneath a cliff and opened into a large underground lake. Small caves were carved into the side of the walls, she had reached the Zora village. Link saw that the Zora here were frozen solid. Some floated near the surface, others were on the bottom. Near a tunnel, where the water was at its coldest, she found the body of Princess Amaya. The Zora had a soft 'oh' look on her face; as if surprised. Her arms were raised slightly, her fins permanently spread out; a statue of her former self. Link grimaced as she swam past the unfortunate princess. Whatever had happened here, had happened quickly. Another gift from the Demon King? She didn't know, but this was pissing her off. The Gorons had been fine, they had been in no immediate danger of death; The Zora, however, were different. They lay as statues in their homes. Frozen, never to see the daylight again. She had failed in protecting the Hylian princess, she would not fail in protecting the Zora. Even if it killed her, she would not allow herself to fail. Her mind made up, she went into the icy tunnel.

Link looked around, everything was covered in ice. It was rather unnerving to surrounded by so much ice. It was like someone had gone and painted everything in shades of blues and whites. As she went deeper, she saw it. or rather _her._ Seated upon a throne of what looked like shells carved from ice, was a very large female Zora. The Zora looked very much like her daughter, the only difference being that she had only one fin on each side of her head. They were elegant and had silver sapphire earrings hanging from them. There was also the fins that formed a 'skirt' that were also longer and gave her the appearance of no legs._ Queen Mephala... _Link couldn't tell what her colouring was, but she could see that the queen was still quite beautiful. Link began to explore the rest of the Temple. It was eerily silent. Everything she came across, was frozen. however, when she came to a door, the ice melted, and she could open it. going through one such door, she found herself in a room that wasn't covered in ice. Link quickly attributed this to a weak flame concealed within a small orb. she went closer to investigate it. The orb had a weird shimmery look to it, and Link thought that it looked a bit like a bubble. An actual bubble, not the fiery skull with wings. Reaching out to touch it, the flame sprung into life. Link drew back her hand in surprise. The orb didn't get any bigger, but it now looked like a fiery pearl. A massive moaning sound could be heard throughout the Temple. What did she do now? Turning around a little too quickly, she felt a flash of pain shot up her arm before her world went black.

* * *

_A six-year-old Link read the Hero of Twilight's journal; she had already finished reading the Hero of Time's journal. Her mother had given her the journals, alongside an oddly shaped pendant that had been passed down in her family for generations. The stone currently lay on her chest beneath her shirt. The Hero of Time's journal, while already seen as a historical textbook, Link also thought that it doubled as a magical textbook as well. While her mother had forbidden her from trying any of the spells mentioned, Link had ignored her and had learned them anyway. She considered it a rather good idea because she had found out that while the spells did cost a lot of magic, some of them, Farore's Wind, in particular, had uses that were not mentioned. Farore's Wind, it turned out, wasn't limited to dungeons. The fact that she could use them outside of dungeons had delighted her, though it had been difficult to explain to her mother, as to why she had suddenly popped out of nowhere. The Hero of Twilight's journal she had found to be made up of rather realistic looking sketches with paragraphs attached. the journal, like the Hero of Time's, spanned two very thick volumes. She found both journals to be very interesting and she found it odd that both heroes shared the same name, Link. she turned the page and found herself looking at a female imp with what looked like pottery on her head._

"This is Midna, princess of the Twilight Realm," _it read. _"I know she doesn't look much the part, nor did she ever really act like it. I swear, if the sages hadn't had called her the 'twilight princess' I probably never would have figured it out. I honestly thought her to be some spoiled brat, which I suppose is correct. Though, the whole You-Must-Be-My-Servant thing... Not the proudest moment in my life, aside from that time I got chased up a tree by a Cucco (they never attacked me after I changed into a wolf that first time, I wonder why?) but it wasn't like I had much of choice. It was either become the servant of this bossy imp, I know nothing about, or I could starve to death and rot in a dungeon cell. Not very good choices, but I'll take choice one over two any day. At first, she wasn't very kind to me and constantly landed fairly hard onto my back (though, that stopped after I nipped her after I finally had enough, still was a bitch to me, though). We did eventually became friends, and I do still miss her. One thing I will say, her riding me humbled me, but I never enjoyed it. Sometimes when there is no moon, I will howl and I like to believe she can hear me. It's probably just wishful thinking, but it's also a nice thought to have. I am sentimental, I will admit, I guess it's just my personality."

_Link turned the page again to show a beautiful woman in a black robe. She didn't need the small lettering at the bottom to know that this was Midna's true form. Turning it again, she found herself looking at an object that was identical to her pendant. The Shadow Crystal._

* * *

Link woke up with a groan. Her right arm felt like it was burning and she ached all over. One of the things that she noticed was that she had legs again and that someone had wrapped a blanket around her like a towel. Another thing that she noticed was that she appeared to be in a small cavern with a hole in the middle filled with water. She also noticed that she was not alone. Sitting across from her was Stalfos who must have been a Zora in life, judging from his bones and armour.

"Where are we?" she asked, sitting up.

The Stalfos looked surprised and said, "You're awake. We are currently in a cell in the Water Temple. they threw you in here and I saw that you were injured. so I, ah, healed you. I don't know how to heal, but I did have an old bottle of Red potion, so I poured that over it."

Link wouldn't have thought that Stalfos could blush, but this one certainly was. She looked over at her right arm and whistled softly. It was covered in a lacy, almost fern-like, scar. It was healed now, but it must have looked downright _horrible_ when it was fresh. She bowed her head, "Thank you,"

"Your welcome," he replies hands her the mermaid suit, "I'm assuming this is yours,"

"It is thank you," she replies, " Since we are most likely going to be here a while, so we might as well get acquainted. My name is Link, I am a shifter who wishes to save the Zora."

"A noble goal," The Stalfos replied approvingly," My name is Nuzu, a Zoran warrior tasked with protecting the queen. However, the queen is no more, not since that strange man came."

"Strange man?" she asked,

"Aye, he was wearing a long purple robe and a large hat that obscured his features_, Zora,"_ Nuzu explained, " he demanded that we pledge loyalty to the king, or there would be consequences. Our queen refused as she had done at the start of the King's reign, saying that no matter what, the Zora would only pledge loyalty to the true ruler of Hyrule. upon this refusal, the man opened a seemingly empty bottle and disappeared. whatever was in that bottle cursed us all with undeath. The queen looked largely the same but she was a twisted shadow of her former self. Some managed to escape. it was lucky that there were few of us in the temple and even luckier that the queen's daughter was not there, _Zora_."

Link nodded and said, " The queen, what do you mean by a twisted shadow?"

"she is dead, in her place is a demoness who wears her skin. Queen Mephala is no more the kind and gentle woman she once was. Nor is she the queen who plotted to rebel with the Gorons, _Zora_."

"Rebel?" she asked, curiously.

"Aye, We, along with the Gorons, were going to rebel against the King, But we soon stopped hearing from them, _Zora,_" Nuzu said, "the Zora are proud warriors, yes, but we are not stupid. To fight the king now is suicide. And in seeing that you are alone, you will do well to remember that. The reason I am in here is because I rebelled, _Zora_.'

Link nodded once more. She knew the risks of what she wished to do, and the troubles it brought, but giving up was not an option. The shadow King had reigned long enough. She'd rather die trying to create a future filled with light, then bow down to one of darkness. The shadows were always there; you could not have light without shadow. However, true darkness was unnatural and was something to be chased out. She could feel the both reassuring and slightly painful pressure of her lock picks in her bra. "what part of the temple do they keep the prisoner's supplies?"

"I will show you, _Zora."_

Link slid into the hole and wiggled into the mermaid suit. When she got it on, she went to the cell door. The lock wasn't particularly strong, but she was starting to have second thoughts. the water around her was a faint lilac, a sign that there was malice in it. She sincerely hoped it was diluted enough. taking out a lock pick, she inserted it into the lock. She wiggled it back and forth until it caught on something, she quickly twisted and pulled it back in one fluid motion. There was a click and the door opened. Nuzu went out of the cell first, and Link followed. Mostly to take her mind off the Lilac colour of the water, she thought about the different types of Zora. There were two, The slat water and freshwater Zoras. The Saltwater Zora could be found anywhere, where saltwater was present. They looked very much like the Zora native to the era of the Hero of Time. Bright blue skin, large fins, and with purple, sometimes red, eyes. The woman (and some males) had humanoid looking eyes. A large defining trait of theirs was their ability to generate electricity. Freshwater, on the other hand, were largely similar, but with major differences. One crucial difference was that their weakness to electricity. They also had fins on the sides of their heads which served as their ears. They also had very colourful fins, which were smaller than their- Linkle's train of thought was broken by Nuzu telling her that they had reached the supplies.

"Here this where they keep the Prisoners' belongings, _Zora,_" Nuzu said gesturing to a stone chest.

Link nodded, noticing nervously that the water was now a very distinct purple. Once more she took out her lock pick, her hand shaking badly. She began to hum a melody that her mother had taught her. Nuzu listened intently to her humming. It whispered of eternal peace, of moving on; it said not to worry. That the Zora would be alright, that he didn't have to stand and watch the sad remains of his queen and fellow guards. He gave one last breath and the light in his eyes went out, just when a click sounded and the chest opened. Link took out her equipment and put them on. She looked around for Nuzu and her eyes fell on his bones. She small smile formed on her lips and she put his bones into the chest. It wasn't the greatest and she couldn't chip away at the stone to mark it, but it was as good a resting place as any. What mattered was that he was at rest now. It was good that his time as one of the undead was not long. Some were like that for decades, even centuries. She swam out of the room and continued down the hallway. At the end of it was a door. The water had gotten to the point where it was like looking through purple glass. She felt a shiver go through her body that caused her skin to ripple. A pain that felt like fire went through her body, and the flesh on her left hand began to melt. At the same time, her pendant began to glow. The dark lines that she had always thought to be carvings glowed a bright orange. As it glowed brighter, the pain left her, but the flesh on her left hand was gone, with only bits of flesh sticking to her left. It was a strange thing to see, her flesh attached to the bone of her forearm, yet almost none on her hands. And it wasn't just her hands that were devoid of flesh, a few ribs could be seen, parts of her face were shiny bone, and her tail was missing flesh in places as well. She was happy that she was wearing the necklace, though she didn't know that it could do that. She opened the door and went inside. Stalfos and Bari patrolled the waters. The Stalfos nodded towards her, accepting her rather strange appearance. She'd have to be careful of the Bari, though. Link looked towards the throne and understood what Nuzu had meant. The Queen's flesh clung to her bones, and her eyes were empty holes. Link swam towards Mephala, despite the danger of the queen being a Redead.

_"one of the living approaches yet are also of the undead, Zora" _came the wispy voice of Mephala, "_ You have died once yet come back alive. Now you are half dead, and half alive. What are you?"_

Link didn't know how to answer the queen, at first. Did she die? She didn't remember that...As for the question about what she was, well she didn't either. Rotting mermaid? No, she wasn't that either. A shifter was what she was, and a shifter she would remain until her death."I am a shifter, Your Highness. The malice has caused my flesh to melt in places, but I am one of the living."

"_A shifter..? I know that already, but you are something else, Zora"_ The Queen replied, _"You healed one of us by humming. What sort of power do you hold to cast magic like that? Never mind, Zora. I have a favour to ask of you. My guards and I have been trapped in this world for too long. I would like it if you could put us to rest, Zora."_

Link nodded, "gladly". She opened her mouth and began to sing the tune that she had sung earlier. Once again that feeling of calm entered her.

The queen listened and sighed her spirit leaving her body. Her spirit brushed past Link whispering a thank you and went to her daughter. Amaya looked in surprise at the ghostly form of her mother. "Mother..?" Mephala smiled sadly and said, "It is time for you to lead the Zora now. I wish I could've watched you become Queen, but I cannot. Please help the shifter as she has for the Zora. Goodbye, I love you, I hope we will not meet for many years to come, _Zora._"

Link finished her song and smiled grimly at the remains of the Queen and her guards. She couldn't really do much else for them, so she wished them luck on their journey to the afterlife. The water was no longer purple, but Link was still the same. She wasn't surprised, her transformation had been caused by malice. She spotted a door high above the throne. She went towards it and found that it had the symbol of Nayru on it. She went through it and found herself in a vertical tunnel. Going up the stone tunnel, she breathed in the air. Getting herself onto the stone, her tail became legs once more. she got out of the Mermaid suit and looked around. A pale blue glow illuminated the walls, coming from the large pool of water at the back of the cavern. As she walked towards it she noticed that there were Hylian runes around its rim, and Nayru's symbol was at the bottom of the water. _So this is the second spring..._ she thought. Link sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. Soon she found herself within a large meadow. It was the same one from before, she was sure of it, the scent was the same. She was in her human form, though her flesh was whole and she was wearing different clothing. She had always worn a green tunic, but this one had silver embroidery along the edges and was a brighter, more leaf-like green then her own. She was wearing black pants and dark brown boots that came up a little past her knees. She was also wearing an off white high necked shirt, and her gauntlets had impressions in them. Link was a bit concerned at her new attire, but at least she wasn't in her underwear. A scent caught her attention. It was almost identical to the wolf's, except this one didn't have that divine smell, and she also smelled grave soil. Walking towards the scent, she found a towering Stalfos in armour. She recognized him from the Hero of Twilight's journal, if she remembered correctly then this Stalfos was the Hero of Time. She knelt before him, head bowed.

"Rise, my child," The hero of Time said to her, "you have read the Hero of Twilight's journal, but you need not kneel before me. Come, there are some things that I wish to teach you. Heh, who knew I would be teaching the next hero again?"

Link obeyed and followed him. She still did not believe herself to be the next hero, but she _did_ wish to bring an end to the Demon King's reign.

the Hero of Time stopped and said, "You already know how to shift, I'm guessing?"

Link nodded, not quite sure where this was going.

"Good, that makes things easier. however, I want to teach you how to unlock your true wolf form. The first time you shifted, you would have been in this form, but due to your suppression of it, it has degraded. Now, when you shift I want you to focus on the memory of your first time shifting."

Link did as she was told, focusing on that memory. She remembered the fierce pain that had flowed through her, the worried eyes of her father as he paced, worried that he would lose her. Remembered the flow of many strange scents, and the ignition of that burning desire to protect at whatever the cost. Remembered how after shifting she had howled loudly to the growing dusk. Link felt the shift, except it was just as painful as the first time. She gritted her teeth as they grew longer and sharper. Fur sprouted all over her body as her spine re-positioned itself and grew a tail. She was panting when it was over, exhausted.

"Well, done," said an unnaturally large golden wolf, "I didn't think that you would be able to do it the first time. Your exhaustion is normal and will pass in time. You will be able to control your size at will, and that will make things easier for you."

Link looked at herself as best she could. Her fur was a creamy brown mixed with grays with her underbelly and chest being pure white. Her sides had strange markings like that of a curving claw. "My fur..."

"This was its original colouring. It became that colour from you following what those Shiekah told you to do," the Hero of Time seemed bitter when he said this, going silent for a considerable amount of time before saying," Now I would like you to transform back, doing as you did before, except now you will focusing on a memory of when you were in your human form."

Link focused on the last memory of Zelda and found that it was of the morning when Zelda had died. The Princess's hair had been down, and she had been wearing a fairly simple blue dress. Link remembered the princess saying that she wished that Link was free to do as she chooses. She remembered saying that if it were so then she wouldn't exist because the Lukami would have been hunted down to extinction. Her only memories later that day was fear and waking up on a table reserved for the freshly dead and her father's pelt on top of her. Link opened her eyes to find herself in her wolf form. Why couldn't she remember anything else? And what was she doing on a table for the dead in the first place? She was bothered and focused on the memory of Zelda and transformed back into a human. To her surprise, Link found that she was whole once more. She gave a silent thank you to the goddesses and put on the Mermaid suit. She then headed back to the throne room, where she found Princess Amaya waiting for her.

"Shifter, I wanted to thank you for releasing my people, _Zora,_" princess Amaya said, " The Zora will not forget your kindness, and nor will my mother, _Zora_."

"Your welcome, your Highness," Link said bowing, "I hope that now the Zora will be left in peace."

"I wish that was true, _Zora,_" Amaya replied. "My people will most certainly be hunted now, and now that I'm Queen, I can't stand to see the Demon King hunting us as he did before. The Zora Will pledge their Alliance to you, _Zora_."

"Me..?" Link said, "N-no that's alright."

Amaya smiled, " At the moment you are the closest thing to the Hyrulean Royal Family, _Zora._ This means that if you succeed in defeating the King, then the Zora will support you in becoming the Queen of Hyrule...Hero, _Zora_."

"I do not seek the throne," Link said, " I will only take it if no one of the Hyrulean Royal family can be found."

Amaya nodded, "Too bad, I feel like that you would make a good leader. Goodbye, Hero, _Zora._"

Link bowed and took her leave.

* * *

**_Hello, I have now updated all the chapters and tried to fix any mistakes that I found, or rather what my gammerly found. I hope this is easier read and is of hopefully, probably not, better quality. That part is all me. I need to write more, learn more skills. _**


	5. Chapter 4: The Twilit Gate

Link walked on the rooftops bordering a dark ally in the town beneath the Castle. To say that this specifically was dark wasn't saying much. Up here, everything looked pretty much the same to her. Sure, maybe you would see something interesting every once in a while. If you wanted to see these things or not was an entirely different matter. The reason why everything was so dark was that the town sat directly beneath the castle. It used to be called Castle Town, but Link had always known it as the City of Darkness. Monsters and Humans lived here in relative peace. In Link's experience, the Monsters who lived here didn't enjoy the eternal darkness themselves much. Many inhabitants carried lanterns, with torches at entrances and street corners. The Humans that lived here were either filthy rich, or too poor to leave. Link, who in truth was more of a mercenary than a bounty hunter, had once had a client who had wanted her to assassinate a rich aristocrat who owed money to some underworld types. She had often had jobs like this, it seemed she was most people's first choice when they couldn't find an assassin. It made sense, she could be rather discreet when she wished to be. However, she had been told that the manner of death was entirely up to her. She had planned on staging an accident, but he had complicated things by trying to pay her money to spare her life. It was then she had decided to just simply kill him and leave his body for all to see. Link thought perhaps that was where her reputation had come from. she continued on the rooftops, unseen by the people below. Link was used to it, the Sheikah had trained her to be nothing more than a shadow and it had served her well. It could get a little lonely, people not seeing her, but at the same time not. To them, she just blended into the shadows. She was surprised at how well this outfit (which she had been wearing in the meadow and later found in her pouch) helped her to blend in. She had been worried that maybe it would make it easier to see her. Link continued walking on the rooftops, getting into the seedier part of an already seedy part of town. She was looking for a specific shop, one that sold equipment at a reasonable price. She needed a new sword, her own having been rusty and smelling of malice, no matter what she did with it. Weapons and armour were in high demand these days and the merchants took advantage of it. The merchant that she dealt with, also dealt with other...things. She knew him to be the only merchant that would buy souls and the only one who sold equipment without ripping you off. The soul part was probably the most illegal thing that Kazar dealt with. To be specific it was the souls of poes, but that was still dealing with souls. She finally came across a sign that read "Kazar's souls". She entered into a well-kept room that had swords, bows, and potions for sale.

"Hello there, Huntress. Don't think I've ever seen you without your mask," Kazar said pleasantly making eye contact, "What can I do for you?"

" I need a new sword, and I'm going to be venturing into the Faron province, perhaps Ordon," Link replied a little uncomfortable under that singular red eye.

"What happened to the old one, may I ask?" asked Kazar.

"Malice infected water got it rusty. I tried to get rid of the rust, but it stuck fast. Don't suppose you have anything that can repel malice would you?"

"Well, no, but I do have this sword," he said pulling out a wrapped sword from behind him," It's heavily enchanted and almost as strong as the legendary Master Sword. If the authorities knew that I had this sword I'd be killed. According to the guy who sold this to me, it was enchanted by the sages themselves. I don't know too much about that other than that it does work well against malice. I believe it would make an excellent replacement," He unwrapped it to reveal a sword with jewels embedded into the hilt. Link picked it up and studied it. It was surprisingly light and was well balanced. The crossguard was fairly simple, and she could feel the magic within it. The blade had a faint glow to it, and it gave her the same vibe as the springs did.

"How much for it," she asked, hoping that it wouldn't cost too much.

"Five hundred rupees is what I would normally charge," Kazar said, smiling when he saw the look of dismay upon her face, he added, "But since your the only customer of mine that always comes here first when they need something, I'll bump it down to three hundred."

That was still expensive, but better than the five hundred. Link gave Kazar the three hundred rupees, aware that she only had about one hundred rupees left.

"Here take the sheath," Kazar said handing her a very plain sheath, "You'll be needing it. Do you have that other sword still? I'd like to have it. it will be interesting to see what malice-induced rust looks like and behaves."

Link handed him her old sword, careful to touch only the sheath. Kazar took it and inspected it. "I give you that sword because you are a woman of her words. The forest is a dangerous place. A witch lives deep inside. I would seek her out if I were you. She may have information that could help you."

Link looked at him curiously. The strange merchant looked back his glowing red eye staring into her soul. She said goodbye and left. Kazar was many things. A Merchant of souls and reasonably priced equipment, a half-Poe, and a person who could look into the souls of others. Kazar had never been able to look into hers until now, due to the mask she usually wore. As she left she heard him mutter, "That soul... ancient and noble...reborn many times...I have never seen one quite like it..."

A few weeks later, Link was in the Faron woods heading towards Ordon in the hope that someone could tell her about the forest. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. Ordon was one of the two places that most people had fled to. There was the mountain village where Link had been raised, and then there had been the hometown of the Hero of Twilight. Most of the Hylians that had fled went to the mountain, but some went along with the humes (Hyruleans that had looked a lot like Hylians except they didn't have the long pointed ears and couldn't hear as well). Soon, Link found herself before a large black wall. It was like looking into the Abyss. The hell? she thought. Link looked at it with growing dread. It looked like a gate of Twilight, but she knew it wasn't. How she was able to know she didn't know, it was just a deep feeling she had in her gut. She placed her hand on the surface of the wall and drew her hand from it with a hiss. It felt slimy and hurt like hell when it came into contact with her skin. But her hand had gone through a little. It was painful, but the change had been more painful. Taking a deep breath, she walked through. Pain blinded her for a little bit as her body reacted violently to the change in the atmosphere. Her body briefly took on the form of a wolf-like humanoid, before reverting to its normal state with a few changes. She opened her eyes and got off the ground, disoriented. Her canines had lengthened, and her nails had sharpened themselves into points. She looked at her nails with unease. She hadn't expected her body to react like that. She looked around, Huh, whatever the hell that thing is, it effectively works like a gate of Twilight. The sky was blue here, and big fluffy white clouds floated harmlessly in the sky. But why was it that on the other side of that gate, the land was in shadows? Link was very interested in meeting the people here. Link went past the gates that were adorned with goat horns. She passed a spring that was closed off. I wondered why it's closed off?, she thought to herself, The people would love to go here, wouldn't they? As she entered the Village, she asked one of the locals where the local inn was.

The man, in question, looked very surprised at her, "How did you get past the wall? No one's been able to get passed it in sixteen years. As for an Inn, well we haven't had anyone who wasn't from here in years, so an inn is a little useless."

This was interesting news. "The gate was a little uncomfortable to pass through, but it's possible." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Uncomfortable?" The man laughed shakily, "Anyone who tries, screams in pain and dies!"

She thanked the bewildered man and went off to ponder what he said. So if it wasn't a gate of Twilight, then what was it? A death gate? No, she would be dead, if that were true. That gate was something and maybe it was a gate of Twilight, She had never seen one before, but she still didn't think so. Something told her that it was something else. She decided to go back to it and figure it out. The townspeople were fine. They had been saved from the fate that the rest of Hyrule had faced. They were not a part of this. The gate was more or less like looking into the abyss. Looking a little closer, she saw that it had a magic circle placed into it. In the center, there was an inverted triforce with Gerudo runes on the edges. In the space inside that wasn't occupied by the triforce were the inverted symbols of the sages. For some crests, it didn't look inverted, but for the others, yes. Link went back through the gate, almost painless, now. Looking back at it, it was the same, as were her hands and teeth. She shuddered, this one having nothing to do with the effect the gate had on her when she went through. To her, it looked like an omen. A very bad one. She went into the woods to look for the witch. The woods were thick, but it wasn't so bad in her wolf form. In the mountains, her father had taken her hunting with him. But that was before he lost control before he was hunted down and slaughtered like a rabid animal. She had never seen the harm her father could give because he had been the same. Sure, he had been unable to shift back, but he had still been the same man as before. Link had followed the hunters and had found her father dying. The hunters hadn't even the decency to kill him quickly. Hot tears spilled down her furry cheeks at the memory. Her father had spoken to her, telling her to take over the pack when she was old enough and to not be angry with those who had killed him. She had followed his advice for the most part. She hadn't really understood the 'pack' part of it, but the not being angry with those responsible for his death she had understood and found difficult. She loved her father and afterwards had tried to hide her anger as best she could, being only four years old. Link thought about her mother. She must have been heartbroken at her husband's death and later Link's disappearance, but at least she still had her son. Fenrir could protect their mother. He was all she had left, her, all he had left. Link being unable to restrain herself howled mournfully. She hadn't thought about all that she had left behind in years and now she regretted leaving. Who was to say anyone would have given her much grief for her failure? She didn't know and stopped howling. What was done, was done. Defeating the Demon king was perhaps the best thing she could do for Hyrule. It's better to die fighting for hope then to drown in despair. With renewed strength, she began to run. Soon, she came upon a small hut. There was a light inside and she could see shadows moving around inside, so she transformed into a human and waited outside. A keese or two swooped down on her, but they didn't do anything. It was odd. The smell of malice was limited here, perhaps it was because it was so close to the world of light? A rather short old woman wearing black robes came out of the hut and jumped in surprise.

"oh! Who are you?" the woman said, startled.

"My name is Link," Link replied noting the woman's olive green skin and the large cracked sapphire on her forehead, "I was told by a friend that a witch lived here and that I should see her before going on with my quest."

"Link..?" the woman said, thinking She's younger than I expected, still just a Vehvi. she smiled warmly, " My name is Kotake, and I'm more of a sorceress than a witch. You wish for information about the Vatiti, no?

Link nodded after a moment of thought, it took her a bit to remember what Vatiti meant.

"Then come inside. We have much to say and it is more private inside."

Link nodded and followed Kotake into the hut. It had only one room but was fairly spacious. She took a seat at the table, Kotake sitting across from her.

"Ganondorf wasn't evil to begin," Kotake said a little sadly, "He just wanted what was best for his people. I suppose in a way, my sister and I are at fault for that. We encouraged him to do what he thought was best for the people. He saw that while our winds brought only death, the winds that blew through the green fields of Hyrule, brought things, other than death. He asked the Hylian Vatiti for land, but the Vatiti refused. In doing so, it started a war. A war that the Gerudo won. I don't know what happened to Ganondorf to cause this, all I know is that my sister, Koume, is content with serving him and I am not."

Link thought about this. She understood about the wind, she had grown up in the mountains. The wind that blew there was cold and unforgiving, always managing to find ways into their homes. But the Hyruleans refusing to give land was something else. If they were not willing, the least they could do was help the Gerudo in other ways. Of course, it probably wasn't as simple as that. So Ganondorf had once been a nobleman, only to become corrupted by power. Was this payback? Could be, but to what end? Hyrule was racist and sexist, this was a fact that was not lost on her. Growing up, she had been the source of many a whispering and a dirty look. A girl protecting the princess? Ha! She'll only fail. This was why she had been so upset at the princess's death, she had proved to be a failure. Link realized that the Gerudo must have known this for many years. But what of the shadow era? Were the Gerudo not more accepted then?

She asked Twinrova about this, who replied "Hardly! We are tolerated, but the people of Hyrule would have very quickly chased us out of the desert, given the chance. We know our place, or at least we did."

"Would it be possible to start a rebellion among the Gerudo? I'm certain that some must feel the same as you."

"Those who do are unable to think for themselves. They have been brainwashed by my sister and that strange sorcerer that Ganondorf summoned."

"Sorcerer?"

"Yes, he is called Ghirahim. He calls himself a demon lord."

Now, why in the name of Hylia did that name seem so gods damn familiar? Her brain seemed to be telling her that Ghirahim was not exactly a demon lord. He was more of a perverted demonic spirit that happened to inhabit a sword that belonged to a god of destruction..? Link was seriously starting to question her sanity. Perhaps the next Temple would have some answers for her. Then again maybe not. She still had the temple of Hylia, wherever that was located. Link thought about brainwashing and also thought about the cracked sapphire on Kotake's forehead. Carefully, Link asked about it.

"Ah, yes," Kotake replied a little sadly, "I was brainwashed by Ghirahim, but my sister cracked the gem thus breaking the spell. I have been here ever since. I would suggest you be careful when the time comes for you to confront him."

Link thanked Kotake for the information and took her leave.

Kotake sighed as the Basso, Link, left. She hoped the goddess would protect her, even though she was not Gerudo. The Goddess knows she needs it. There had been something else... She had forgotten to tell Link about it. It was in regards to the Hylian princess. Oh, well, perhaps she will learn of it at the spring within the temple.


End file.
